What I'm always surprised by is the notion that if your console isn't in first place it's a failure. Who came up with this rule? There are so many other factors that play into whether or not you can consider a product a success or not.
Believe it or not, the Xbox was quite successful. MS entered the console race and they came in second against the strongest competition ever (Sony's PS2) and a formidable powerhouse (Nintendo's software). I don't think MS ever thought that they would sell more units than anyone else. So while they may have lost some money on the deal, they created a strong brand and a solid network infrastructure in place for their second effort which continues to rival anything else out there.
And while the GC came in a close second (and even Nintendo stated that they felt the machine was a 'failure'), Nintendo made money from the GameCube and its games. And that's more than other companies who have since exited the console race can say (i.e. NEC/Hudson, Sega, Atari).
And so here we are in the newest console race, and it's mostly Sony's to 'lose' -- the strength of the PS1 and the dominance of the PS2 are unparalleled. And the series of missteps by Sony have been staggering... removal of rumble, delayed launches, high price point, lack of games, etc. In the end, that may mean Sony will only sell 60M versus 120M consoles and put them in a close race for second place. But is that so bad? While I'm sure Sont isn't gunning for number two, if they make it out of this generation with some profits I'm sure they'll at least be somewhat happy.
As to the future, at this point it's obvious that this generation will not mirror the last and will probably be unique unto itself. It's definitely too early to call, but as time passes trends and events will play out that will allow us to be able to more clearly determine the future of the systems. Nintendo can't seem to capitalize on their success and make enough consoles. MS flies in the face of convention and refuses to drop the price of their machine. (Heck they even raised it with the launch of the Elite.) And Sony is quickly becoming the underdog and getting very little respect these days. The summer will be slow; it often is -- amazing how that piece of history continues to play itself out. And we're all waiting for the fall and holidays for most of the games and sales to create a solid picture. In the meantime, maybe you should go outside and enjoy the nice weather... :P
(And we're all allowed to critique another's opinion. I don't care if they're paid or not. But keep it civil and try to back it up with some logic...)
Numbers are like people. Torture them enough and you can get them to say anything you want.
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